“Yup, I liked him at first, but after I seen how stupid he was, that was it,” Tracy added, not saying anything about Mercedes smoking in her house.
Mercedes took her first drag and puff. Then she asked, “So who you been seeing, girlfriend, ’cause I know you gave up them panties by now?”
Tracy answered bashfully but proud, “The only one who got some was this boy named Victor.”
Mercedes’ eyes lit up. “Victor Hinson?” she asked excitedly.
“Yeah, how you know?”
Mercedes chuckled through the smoke. “I used to mess wit’ his older brother,” she answered. “So little Victor was takin’ it to you, hunh?”
Tracy admitted through a smile, “Yeah.”
“Well, did you get anything from him?”
“What ’chew mean by that?”
“I mean, did he give you some gear, some money or something. I know you didn’t just give him the pussy for free, did you?”
Tracy answered, feeling ashamed, as if she should have known better, “Oh, well, he just got what he wanted and left.”
“Girl, what did I tell you before?” Mercedes said, seriously. “Do you smoke?” she quizzed.
“No,” Tracy snapped, not caring what Mercedes felt about it. Tracy didn’t like cigarettes, and neither of her parents smoked.
Mercedes puffed her cigarette with dark slit eyes, dressed to kill and sparkling with gold. She tossed out her gold-ringed, cigarette-holding hand and ran down the game from the girl side of things. “I told you, don’t give them nothin’ unless they got something to give you. Now I know Victor is a suave young-boy and all, but you won’t get nothin’ out of it, ’cause I had his older brother, and I know. They some stingy motherfuckers. Half the time, girls end up buying them shit.
“Now what you do is get a nice-looking nut dude with some money and romance his ass. If you can get somethin’ without doing anything with him, then do it. But if you can’t, then make sure you play with his mind real good before you do. ’Cause see, a lot of guys are stingy until you give them some pussy. But once you do, they start actin’ dumb, all in love and shit.”
Mercedes straightened out a few of the gold rings on her fingers. “But watch out for the hustlers though, ’cause they’ll try to hurt you.”
“What about getting pregnant and stuff?” Tracy asked, thinking about what her father had warned.
Mercedes dug into her bag and pulled out a plastic case. “These are birth control pills. You just take one of these every day.” She then wrote a number down on a piece of paper. “You go into this clinic and they’ll give you the right dosage for your body and stuff. And it’s all confidential,” she added. Mercedes gave Tracy the number. Tracy immediately thought about Bruce, plotting to seduce him.
“Hi, mom,” Mercedes said, as her mother opened the door.
Beth’s eyes ballooned. “Where have you been?” she queried, hugging her daughter excitedly. Mercedes had chosen to live on the wrong side of the tracks, but she was still her Mother’s first child.
“I’ve been around, but I’ve been busy.”
Raheema came out from the kitchen and listened in from the dining room.
“Well, what have you been up to?” Beth asked, stepping back to take a look at Mercedes, whom she had not seen in six months.
“I got a job at Mellon Bank. And right now I’m living with this guy who’s in law school.”
“Law school? Well, that’s great! Do you plan to get married to him?”
“I mean, we’ll have to see what happens. He may not want me after he finishes school. You know how these sorry niggas out here get. But how’ve you been doing, mom?” Mercedes asked, changing the subject.
“I’ve been hangin’ in there, you know.”
“How’s Ms. Patti doin’? I forgot to ask Tracy while I was over there?”
“She’s just fine. Everybody’s fine,” Beth said. She looked over at her younger daughter and wished the two of them could settle their differences. “Raheema, get on over here and say ‘hi’ to your sister, girl.”
Raheema got up, hesitantly, and walked over to them. She had been feeling lonely since Bruce had stopped coming around, and she had been thinking about Mercedes. She’s still my sister, she told herself.
Mercedes squealed, “Whaaat? My little sister wants to hug me and shit. This must be Christmastime!”
Beth was glad the fighting was over.
Mercedes said, “Well, since we’ve made up, then I guess it’s okay if I ask about the old man. So how is he doin’?”
“Well, you should wait and see him. I know he’s just dying to lay his eyes on you,” Beth suggested.
“I’ll tell you what, mom, I’ll come back tomorrow and see him. ’Cause tomorrow is Friday, and I still have some things to do,” Mercedes responded, ready to leave back out. She never did stay long. Spending too much time in that house seemed to bring back depressing memories.
Raheema and Beth watched her car as she pulled off.
Raheema asked, “What do you think, mom?”
“She’s doing all right, honey.”
“Do you think she’s telling the truth about that lawyer guy?”
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, honey, as long as she’s alive and well.”
Beth closed the door as they walked back inside.
• • •
Bruce and Bucky got ready for another party. The local YMCA on Greene Street, off of Chelten Avenue, was being rented out. Bucky took all day, while Bruce was dressed in an hour. They expected to “rack-up,” or in other words, to collect many phone numbers that night.
Bruce wore new, gold-framed Neostyle glasses that cost over a hundred and fifty dollars. He spent money recklessly, but usually it was only on himself. Bucky called him “a stingy muthafucka.”
They were on their way, both wearing expensive black leather bombers. When they had arrived, crowds were packed outside, as they greeted and shook the hands of all the people they knew, while setting up to romance pretty girls.
Girls stared at Bruce, and he felt lucky as they paid their three dollars and walked inside. He moved over to a sexy, big-butted girl and asked her to dance. She looked at him as if she was in love and agreed to it. She then moved in closer to him as the DJ mixed The Boogie Boys’ hit rap song, “Fly Girl.”
Bruce smiled. “I guess this means you like me, hunh?”
“I guess it does.”
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Joseline,” the sexy, big-butted girl told him.
“That’s a pretty one.”
“I know. But what’s yours?”
“Bruce.”
Joseline squeezed his behind as they danced. “You got a girlfriend, Bruce?”
“Not at the moment, but I do want your phone number.” Bruce’s private was getting harder and harder.
Joseline whispered, squeezing his behind again, “I’ll give it to you, if you promise to give me some.”
She was too aggressive and downright nasty for Bruce’s taste. They continued to dance until the DJ mixed in “The Show,” by Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh. The place rocked with one of the most popular rap tunes, but they then decided to take a break as Joseline wrote her number down. Bruce left her and went to the other side of the room to get another number, thinking that he was the shit.
Bruce asked a sharply dressed, dark-skinned girl, “Ay pretty, you wanna dance?” She gave her Gucci bag to her girlfriend and started to dance with him without a word. She kept her distance and did “The Wop.” She then turned around and moved closer to him, as he leaned up against her. Bruce soon turned to avoid it though, tired of having a hard-on.
After a while, Bruce grew weary of dancing. “Ay look, let’s go over here so I can talk to you right quick,” he said suddenly. He pointed to some chairs, off to the corner of the large gym. The girl retrieved her Gucci bag from her girlfriends and decided to oblige.
Bruce moved their chairs so that they faced each
other. “So, what’s your name?”
“Tasha.”
“That’s a nice one.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling.
Bruce asked, “What would you say if I told you I would like to be your boyfriend in the future?”
Tasha hunched her shoulders. “I’on know.”
“Well, my name is Bruce.”
She grinned and extended her hand to his. “Okay.”
Bruce then slowly placed his hand on her knee, while looking around the gym to make sure that Joseline didn’t catch him.
He asked Tasha calmly, “Have you ever made love before?”
She lied and said, “Yeah.”
“How old are you?”
Tasha lied again. “Fifteen.” She really was fourteen.
“You got a boyfriend?”
Tasha finally told him the truth. “No.”
Bruce smiled through his gold Neostyle frames. “Well, you gon’ think about me, right?”
“Yeah,” Tasha said, bashfully, believing that he was cool.
Bruce asked sternly, like he had witnessed Victor do, “So what’s your number?”
“Five-four-two—”
“Wait, write it down,” he told her, cutting her off.
Tasha took out a piece of paper from her bag. Bruce supplied her with a pen. She then wrote her number down, and Bruce got up to look for Bucky.
“Look, I’ll call you up when I get a chance. Aw’ight?” he told Tasha, strolling away as if he was the shit.
“You better,” Tasha retorted playfully. She was planning on telling her girlfriends all about him.
While on his search for his friend Bucky, Bruce spotted Carmen. Oh, shit! he panicked. His heart began to race. If Carmen was there, then Tracy might be as well. He was not prepared to see her, especially while he was on a roll. Bruce felt inferior when he was around Tracy. Then again, he figured, This might be the best time to talk to her. She’ll see how many other girls like me.
Before he could even look, a familiar voice husked in his ear, “Hi, Bruce.”
Tracy stepped out in front of him with a straight face, twinkling eyes and shiny gold chains, wearing an orange sweater that hugged her pert breasts. Her legs were slightly opened, suggestively, and Bruce was thinking about doing it to her on site. There was no way to get around her. He was shocked, stunned, dazzled and immediately afraid of her. He knew he wasn’t the shit when up against Tracy. And she was only fourteen!
Bruce said, “What’s up?” and moved past her nervously. He hastily entered the bathroom like a scattering alley cat and looked into the mirror, stalling for time. He wanted to talk to her, but he could not help feeling goofy and corny around her. Tracy had already told all of her girlfriends that Bruce liked her. The word was out, and he was scared to even look at her.
Walking back out into the party, he spotted Tracy’s huddle of friends waiting for him. Tracy was in the middle, like a football quarterback. Cool and confident boys moved in, asking her to dance, but Tracy turned them all down.
Bruce went over and asked someone else to dance, but he could see Tracy staring at him from his left side. He had a feeling she was waiting for him. He felt like a winner, deciding to keep her guessing; that way he would be in command.
Yet Tracy destroyed his plans, deciding to approach him while he danced instead of waiting for him. “Ay, Bruce, you don’t wanna dance with me or somethin’?” she asked seductively. She made it sound as if she was desperate and begging for him. And Bruce liked it.
“No,” he responded to her.
The girl he was dancing with became apprehensive. “Is she your girlfriend or something?” she asked, reading Tracy’s tone.
“Naw, she just likes me,” he told her.
Tracy moved over to a nearby wall to continue staring at him. She was worried. Her plan to seduce him would never work if Bruce was no longer interested. And she was still standing there, several songs later, turning boys down as Bruce watched her watching him.
Bucky walked up beside him, grinning. “Tracy’s here.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Bucky chuckled. “Well, you gon’ game her up or what, man?” he asked, right in front of the other girl, not caring if she heard him. Tracy was more important in his eyes. She was one of the flyyest girls there.
“Yeah, but I’m gon’ make her wait some more,” Bruce told him.
Bucky looked at his watch. “Yo, man, it’s almost twelve o’clock, and she might have to go home soon.”
“Umm, excuse me, but it seems you have other things on your mind,” Bruce’s dance partner commented as she walked off from him. Who does he think he is? she fumed to herself. She felt slighted.
Bucky looked at Bruce and hunched his shoulders. “Fuck her, man. Go talk to Tracy.”
Bucky was right, Tracy did have to leave soon, but she refused to. She told Carmen that she would stay until Bruce decided to talk to her.
Bruce finally called her over to him.
Tracy walked over to Bruce real slow, as if he was controlling her will with magic. She answered him like a child, once she had reached him, “Yes, Bruce.” Tracy was doing a good job of playing with his mind. Bruce actually felt like he was manipulating her.
“You wanna dance wit’ me now?” he asked.
“If you want me to.”
Bruce took her hand for a slow song. The DJ played the Art Of Noise’s “Moments in Love.” Tracy’s emotions did not seem to be into it. Bruce assumed she was angry at him for making her wait.
“Are you mad at me or something?” he whispered.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Bruce felt it was a weak question and tried to cover up. “When are you about to leave?” he asked.
Tracy lied. “As soon as my girlfriends are ready.”
“Well, me and Bucky can leave with y’all.”
“Okay,” Tracy happily agreed. Her plan was beginning to work perfectly, because she had to get home soon. Her mother was still acting bitchy about the midnight curfew.
Bruce told Bucky their plans and they all left. Bucky flirted with Carmen on the way to Tracy’s house, but Bruce continued to keep his distance from her, to keep her guessing, of course. He wanted to act as if he was really in control of things.
As they walked, Bucky noticed they were nearing his cousin’s house. He secretly let Bruce know, and Bruce decided to try his luck. He figured he had nothing to lose. He stopped and called Tracy over to him.
“Why don’t you hang out with me, Tracy?” he asked, while holding her hand. “We can all chill over Bucky’s cousin’s house. He lives right up the street.”
Tracy jerked away from him. “No, I gotta get home.”
“Look, it’s only one night. Sometimes you just have to say ‘Fuck it,’ ” he told her, stealing a line from Tom Cruise’s Risky Business.
Tracy laughed at him, recognizing the line. “Boy, you’ve been watching too many movies.”
Bruce felt a strong impulse to go for it, like Victor and the other playboys would do. “Look, if you don’t go with me tonight, then it’s over. So don’t ever speak to me again,” he ranted.
Tracy backed away and continued to laugh. She figured his threat was harmless. She could twist Bruce around her little finger anytime she wanted to. Who is he trying to be? she asked herself.
“Aw’ight then,” she told him, walking away to rejoin her friends.
Bucky shook his head and imitated Fred Sanford. “You, big, dummy!”
Bruce sighed and said, “Man, I’ll never get no ass.”
Bucky headed for his cousin’s house. “Don’t worry ’bout it, ‘Brucie.’ Try again tomorrow,” he said, imitating Tracy. He laughed even harder as his cousin answered the doorbell to let them in out of the cold.
After Christmas, Tracy and Bruce saw each other at the USA Skating Rink in Northeast Philadelphia.
Bruce kept his distance while Tracy stared at him, driving him crazy. And eventually he was drawn to he
r like a fly to fruit, while still trying his hardest to resist temptation.
“Why you always starin’ at me if you don’t like me?” he huffed at her.
“I didn’t say I didn’t like you.”
“Well, do you like me or what?”
Tracy rolled her eyes. “I’on know. You tell me.”
“You know what? You’re really gettin’ on my nerves!”
“So?” she snapped at him.
“So why don’t you tell me what you want from me?”
Tracy lied. “I don’t want nothin’ from you.”
“So why the hell you keep staring at me?”
Teenagers turned to see what was going on. Tracy was amused by Bruce’s temper. She giggled and said, “You better calm down, boy.”
Bruce responded, skating away, “Fuck it, I quit. I’m tired of talkin’ to you.”
Tracy shouted, “Come here!”
“FOR WHAT?!”
“Just come here,” she repeated, heading over to a water fountain on her skates. Bruce skated over behind her. “Do you want my phone number?” she asked, digging inside of her new white Sixers jacket.
“Is it gon’ mean anything?” Bruce asked her.
Tracy snapped, “What ’chew think?”
Bruce started to skate away.
“Yeah, boy! God!” Tracy yelled.
“Are you sure? ’Cause I ain’t playin’ no more games,” he warned her.
“You’ll find out when you call me.”
Bruce smiled helplessly. He was in love with Tracy’s style. And for the rest of that night, she was the only thing that he could think about.
Bruce went home and dreamed about Tracy coming over to his house to make love to him. He imagined himself rolling over and spreading her legs while she lay in his bed. He would then melt into her naked body as she squeezed him and moaned his name. And when they would finish, she would cuddle up to him and whisper, “I love you.”
Bruce called Tracy up and was invited to visit her. He was so excited that he immediately began practicing what he would say and how he would act. He planned to toss on some of his Polo cologne and get a fresh haircut for his shiny waves. And as far as Raheema seeing him, he told himself, “So what? She ain’t fuckin’ anyway. I wasted my time with her, just like Bucky tried to tell me.”